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Connections let an agent use an external service without storing OAuth tokens or provider credentials in the agent repository. A connection belongs to an OpenComputer user and can be used during both local development and deployed sessions.

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Declarations and authorizations

An agent repository declares the kinds of connections its tools can use. For example, a Gmail agent contains a Google connection declaration alongside its source:
The declaration is safe to commit. It describes the provider, services, and requested scopes, but contains no user credentials. Authorization is separate. Each user connects their own account through the OpenComputer CLI:
OpenComputer opens the provider authorization page and stores the resulting connection outside the repository.
Deploying an agent does not grant it access to the developer’s account. At run time, OpenComputer resolves connections using the identity of the user who started the session.

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Multiple accounts and aliases

Aliases distinguish multiple connections of the same type. For example, one user can connect personal and work Gmail accounts:
Agent tools can select the appropriate alias for a request. If no alias is specified, they use the default connection. Use short, recognizable aliases made from letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores. An alias identifies a connection within your own OpenComputer identity; it does not expose or share that account with another user.

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Using connections in sessions

The same managed connection works in both execution modes: Provider credentials remain outside the agent’s source, workspace, prompts, and model output. When an agent needs a connection that the current user has not authorized, the session returns an authorization command and, when available, a dashboard link. This makes the same flow usable from the CLI, the playground, or a connected channel.

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List and remove connections

You can remove a connection by alias or by its connection ID. Use the ID when more than one listed connection has the same alias. Removing a connection prevents future sessions from using it. Agent source and existing deployments are unchanged.

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Identity and security

  • Connections belong to an authenticated OpenComputer user, not a device, directory, agent, or organization-wide shared pool.
  • Two users running the same deployed agent receive access to their own connections only.
  • A connection declaration limits which integrations an agent expects, while the provider authorization limits the scopes that are actually available.
  • Agent instructions should still require confirmation before consequential actions such as sending messages or modifying external data.

Deploy a Gmail summarizer

Create an agent, authorize Gmail, test it locally, and deploy it.

Channels

Let people invoke deployed agents from Slack and other interfaces.